Communication Assessment & Learning Lab
CALL |  Tip Sheets Table of Contents                                                                                                                                                                                     Calendar    Directory    Map    myASU

Delivering a Joke or Story in Your Speech 

1. Never repeat the punch line; once you have told the joke, do not repeat it.  If people in the audience did not hear you, their neighbor can tell them

2. Do not explain why the joke is funny if no one laughs

3. Deliver the punch line clearer and louder than the rest of the joke

4. Maintain eye contact

5. Pause to allow the audience to laugh before moving into the rest of your speech

6. Restate your point after the joke or story

7. Update an old joke that everyone knows (e.g., "The joke used to go ‘people who live in glass houses should not throw stones,’ but it should be that ‘People who live in glass houses should close the blinds.’”)

8. Keep it short and simple

9. Use appropriate gestures and body language

10. Practice the jokes on everyone that you know so you do not forget the joke